What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

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kibaxx7
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 10 Jul 2019, 00:16

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  • With ten starters combining for 155 of the game's 168 points, it was a battle of starting fives at Madison Square Garden.

    The San Antonio Spurs were able to ride three players scoring 20 or more points and used a 18-3 run in the third quarter to take the lead for good in a 91-77 defeat of the New York Knicks. "We got into a nice groove in the second half," said Tim Duncan, who led the visitors with a game-high 23 and nine boards. "It's tricky to defend this squad." The teams met for the first time since the Finals, with the Spurs taking home the championship, 4-1. "Obviously there's going to be emotions in play here whether you want it there or not, but it was more important for us to get a victory,'' said David Robinson, Duncan's partner in crime, who notched in 20 and six. Guards Terry Porter, offseason signee, and Mario Elie posted 21 and 17 points, respectively, but Elie showed praise for another teammate. "Some of us scored a lot, but you don't have to score to help your team," he said. "Just look at Sean (Elliott)'s game. He played great defense, got boards for us, he assisted and found us open". Elliott had just four points but grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists for San Antonio, closing down on Latrell Sprewell, who was 7-of-19 from the field for the Knicks.

    "It just shows you the balance they have,'' said Patrick Ewing, who scored 17 points and was absent in the Finals series this past June. "They are the champions for a reason. That's their greatness. Duncan and Robinson are obviously part of the league's elite, but they have so much around them.'' Sprewell and Allan Houston kept the Knicks in play with 18 points each, as the team shot just 41 percent and was outrebounded, 46-33. The result also noted New York's lack of rotation: Sprewell and Houston's backups, John Wallace and David Wingate, were both scoreless. "When our starters needed a break, they defended our reserves really, really well and took us out of our offense," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We couldn't get a bucket to save our lives." Behind Houston and Larry Johnson, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half, New York raced to a 45-39 halftime lead, but then the third frame happened.

    Led by Robinson, the Spurs outhustled the Knicks -- the former MVP and Porter each had six points during the aformentioned 18-3 spark, as San Antonio transformed a 10-point second-quarter deficit into a 10-point final period lead, shooting 10-for-15 (67 percent) while New York missed 9 of 13. They also attempted a dozen more free throws throughout the contest -- 24-for-31 against 14-for-19. "It was one disappointing possession after another," Sprewell said. "We are having some difficulties on the glass as well. There's a lot of work to be done." The Knicks got no closer than 11 points in the final twelve minutes. "Their inside scoring and rebounding set the tone," Van Gundy added. "We were able to pile some turnovers on them, but we couldn't capitalize on them on the other end. That was the game right there." The Knicks lost both games at Madison Square Garden so far, but will look to bounce back this Sunday when they host the Atlanta Hawks (0-2).
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Last edited by kibaxx7 on 15 Jul 2019, 23:24, edited 2 times in total.
× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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kibaxx7
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 10 Jul 2019, 00:18

djp73 wrote:
09 Jul 2019, 06:48
way to bounce back, looks like you're in for some battles
Oh, it's gonna be difficult. I'm getting destroyed on the glass every single game. The scores are low too, but I take the era I'm playing into consideration for that. I might mess with the sliders a little.
× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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The JZA
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by The JZA » 10 Jul 2019, 03:43

Rough night against San Antonio
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Captain Canada
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by Captain Canada » 10 Jul 2019, 17:24

Might want to re-consider the font colour of the starting lineups, can't even see it :drose:

Need to muster up some more offense if you're going to hang with the big boys.
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djp73
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by djp73 » 10 Jul 2019, 19:04

I can see it fine
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 11 Jul 2019, 21:58

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  • "Rebounding is a key to victory", some would say. Well, then you have to make your shots.

    Latrell Sprewell scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter and Allan Houston added 20 for the night as the New York Knicks used a 16-2 spark to start the second half and defeat Atlanta, 103-86. The Hawks had a huge edge on the glass, 50-34 -- including 15 on offense -- but weren't able to take advantage of it, shooting 42 percent from the field and 26 percent from beyond the arc. On the other hand, the hosts were effective, with Houston and Sprewell joining forces to shoot 16-of-23 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from long range. They made 51 percent of their attempts, with 27 assists on 40 field goals made. "We have got to play like this every night," said Houston. "This intensity will earn us some more wins." After 12 lead changes in the first half, the mentioned 16-2 run gave the Knicks a 65-48 advantage that they never surrendered, leading by as much as 24 points in the fourth frame. "At halftime we talked about the fact that we didn't come out with the energy we needed to," head coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "It's evident that the players got the message loud and clear."

    Patrick Ewing started the game 1-of-6 but went perfect the rest of the way for 16 points, with Marcus Camby tallying 12 off the bench -- the Knicks' substitutes stunned Atlanta's, 30-23, with John Wallace and Chris Childs adding six points each. On the other end of the court, New York had a season-high eight blocks, and seven of them came from reserves: Wallace and Kurt Thomas had two each. "Our first half was not what we hoped for, but we were able to adjust," Ewing said. "Everybody was great today. Our bench really lifted us up." Well, perhaps not Larry Johnson, who posted just four points. "We did a great job of moving the ball around,'' said Sprewell, who had a season-best five dimes. "When we play together like this, good things usually happen for our team.'' Charlie Ward's statline was a bright spot, with eight and seven assists, while keeping rookie Jason Terry on his pocket.

    Terry argued with the referees more than once and was called for two technicals, one in each half, and was thrown out with 5:33 remaining with only 10 points to his name. "We just didn't come out and play after halftime, myself included," Terry said. "To come out and play the way we did, the way I did... I apologize to the rest of the guys." With 16 points and ten rebounds, Alan Henderson was a surprise for Atlanta, leading five players in double figures -- Dikembe Mutombo and Jim Jackson notched in 13 points apiece. The Hawks were sloppy with the ball, committing 15 turnovers to New York's six, and are still winless at 0-3, with two more games on the road coming -- at Utah and New Jersey. "We just can't figure out why we've been coming out flat," said head coach Lenny Wilkens. "We got the boards, we got the shots, but we couldn't make them count. We will need to sit and work on those mistakes." Terry and Isaiah Rider combined to make just 8-of-26 attempts.
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Last edited by kibaxx7 on 15 Aug 2019, 21:36, edited 2 times in total.
× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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kibaxx7
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 11 Jul 2019, 21:59

The JZA wrote:
10 Jul 2019, 03:43
Rough night against San Antonio
That was difficult. Hawks were (kind of) easy, at least.
Captain Canada wrote:
10 Jul 2019, 17:24
Might want to re-consider the font colour of the starting lineups, can't even see it :drose:

Need to muster up some more offense if you're going to hang with the big boys.
djp73 wrote:
10 Jul 2019, 19:04
I can see it fine
Thanks for the heads up Cap, made it a little darker. Need more offense, yeah. I'm thinking of trading Larry Johnson for some backup for Sprewell or Houston, and let Camby take the spot.
× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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Captain Canada
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by Captain Canada » 11 Jul 2019, 22:10

Ewing vs Mutombo brings such a sense of nostalgia. Appreciate the change, brother
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The JZA
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by The JZA » 12 Jul 2019, 06:46

Houston & Sprewell :melo2:
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 15 Jul 2019, 23:17

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  • In similar fashion to last week's win at Oakland over Golden State, the New York Knicks took advantage of some atrocious shooting to steal another win on the road.

    Latrell Sprewell led with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds, with Patrick Ewing posting his second double-double of the year (18 and 11), as the Knicks held the Orlando Magic to a season-low shooting percentage in a 100-89 victory. With the win, the visitors kickstarted their first winning streak of the season -- after a back-and-forth first quarter, they opened the second with a 17-4 run to take a 42-32 lead; they were never behind again. Sprewell had eight points during the run, including two easy layups in the fast break. "It wasn't pretty, because we needed the other team to miss a lot of open shots, but a win is a win," Sprewell said. "Still, our second quarter was more than fine. Hopefully we can build on those twelve minutes from now on." With Orlando's Ben Wallace playing limited minutes because of foul trouble, the Knicks' 38-28 lead in the paint was key. "Even with them shooting poorly, I think we would have lost without Patrick's inside presence and Latrell's drives to the rim," head coach Jeff Van Gundy commented.

    The Magic held a 56-46 rebounding advantage but shot a season-worst 33 percent (29-of-87), including a dismal 5-of-28 from 3-point land. Darrell Armstrong and rookie Corey Maggette combined to sink just 9-of-43 shots -- 2-of-18 from beyond the arc. "I was completely out of sync," said Maggette, who started the game 2-of-8, finishing 7-of-27, for just 17 points. Armstrong had his worst performance of the season with nine points, as Ron Mercer made just two Magic players in double figures with 23. "Ron carried us on this one," said Wallace, who finished the night with ten boards and five steals, even with less than 20 minutes of playing time. "If you ask me what went wrong, those shots didn't fall. It's as easy as that," head coach Doc Rivers said. "Because I think we did some things pretty well. Our bench was active, we worked the glass, we made them turn over the ball. I guess we just had to lose this one."

    Play was sluggish for both teams in the final period, as both teams combined to make seven field goals in the first seven minutes. A hook shot by Bo Outlaw (eight points) rimmed the Knicks' lead to 90-86 with 6:21 to go, but New York closed the game with a 10-3 run. "I guess Latrell and Patrick made up for me," said Allan Houston, who was 6-of-14 for 14 points, just a game after his 20-point outing against Atlanta. Marcus Camby, who notched in 12 in the same game, posted just two tonight. "I do not care about myself as long as we rack up victories," said Camby. "We've been getting off to slow starts every game so far, but we've been fighting, trying to get back into every single one of them. I hope we continue to do that.'' The Knicks were, for the fourth time in five games, outrebounded by double digits, but were able to start their three-game road trip on a good note -- the short tour wraps up with back-to-back stops, Thursday and Friday, at Miami and Indiana.
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Last edited by kibaxx7 on 16 Jul 2019, 07:41, edited 2 times in total.
× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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